Merry Little Christmas
by AriesBalorPrincess
Summary: AU Story! With her newly minted friend in the hospital, Zoe will try to do anything she can to get his family there, so they can not only be there for him, but so they can have a Christmas together, even if it means having it in a hospital room with a family member in a coma. What she wasn't expecting was the younger brother. Can it be a Merry Christmas for them all?


_**Hey guys. This plays a huge part this is one of the main reasons on why I haven't updated any of my other HoD stories. Plus some personal stuff, mixed in with it being the holiday season, it's been tough to find any remote of down time to write anything. But with it being 6 days before Christmas I figured I better get this one finished and posted.**_

 _ **Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays.**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

* * *

"There has to be something that we can do?" Zoe questioned, standing by the front desk. "No one should be alone while in a coma." She didn't know the whole story behind what brought the patient in during the night. She did know that they couldn't reach his current girlfriend, the only contact information they had for him. She dealt with plenty of patients with no family to come see them; this one was different. She knew the guy on somewhat of a personal level. Mainly bits of information he shared while they rode the subway together. They got on and off at different stops, but daily now they would ride together, striking up some sort of friendship.

She knows his name is Jesse. He was born in a tiny little town in Alabama called Bluebell. He always has nice things to say about his hometown. That he had plans to return home for the holidays the first time in over three years. He talked greatly about missing his parents and his bonehead of a younger brother. Who he repeatedly told her she would get along with famously. Famously so that he told her a lot about the man her own age. A very colorful life story. He spoke about how his mother nearly lost her life to cancer when he was a little boy. He shared that part of his past with her when they were getting drinks after a long day of work for the both of them.

Their friendship may have only been new, starting the first of November. With it now being a week before Christmas, she felt for her newly minted friend. Everyone needed to have family or a friend there for them, and she would try to do what she could so he could have that as well.

"We've tried his emergency contact, we were told we had the wrong number. If you found the time to become a spy whilst in the middle of medical school, then you can track his family down," a very tired desk nurse named Judy told her.

"I'll see what I can do," Zoe said, taking her lunch break in her office, to google Bluebell, Alabama.

The search took her longer than it should have if she would have closed out the very second she found the number she needed. Instead she found her way to Dash's blog post about the town, people, animals and everything far in between. When she finished reading them, it felt as if she had grown up there.

She dialed the number while closing out of the website. Not having personal information for any of his family this is all she can do to reach them so if she doesn't get an answer, or they won't hand the phone over to Wade or he wouldn't talk to her, then she couldn't do anything else because not only would it be crazy for her to show up in the tiny town, but also illogical of her to do it.

"Rammer Jammer, this is Wanda. What can I do for you?" Came the eccentric voice from the other end of the line.

"Hello, Wanda, this is Dr. Hart calling from New York Presbyterian hospital," she explained hearing a soft gasp from the other end.

"Shouldn't you be calling the practice?" Wanda questioned, cutting Zoe off. "It can happen people callin the Jammer as it's only a number off," she rambled on.

"Is that where I can find Wade Kinsella?" Zoe asked tentatively.

"Well no, he's right here. May I inquire what this is about?"

"I'm sorry, I cannot tell you anything, patient confidentiality. May I speak with Mr. Kinsella?" Zoe asked.

"You're not calling to plot revenge against him because you feel as if he used you for your night together are you?" Wanda asked in a hushed whisper.

"It is not. I have never met him for that to happen. May I please speak with him?" Zoe asked, keeping her patience when it came to Wanda. Years of dealing with not only irate family members but patients who didn't want to be there.

"One moment, please," Wanda told her.

Zoe sat back in her chair, hearing a murmured conversation on the other end of the line. Enough time passed her by that she didn't think that Wade would take her call.

"This is Wade." She gruffly heard in the phone.

"Hi, Wade, this Dr. Hart from New York Presbyterian hospital," she told him.

"Got it, Doc. Can we cut to the chase of this phone call, work and a foxy little red head is waiting on me," he told her.

"Right. Unfortunately, your conquest for the night will need to be put on hold. I'm calling about your brother, Jesse. He has been an accident and is in a coma. It would be wonderful if you could pass the message on to your parents, or you can give me their number and I can call them," she told him.

A silence followed. She knew he was still on the line with her; she could hear the faint on goings of the bar he stood in. She went to ask if he was alright, hearing the dial tone indicating that he hung up. With a sigh, she left her office.

"You done playing spy?" Judy asked, getting up from the desk, ready to clock out for the day.

"For now. I did track his brother down. I can't tell you if he will be here or if he will even tell their parents the news," Zoe shrugged, grabbing the file handed to her.

"You did what you could," Judy assured her. "Now focus on the rest of your patients," Judy told her pointedly.

She did focus on each patient she had. Jesse and Wade pushed to the back of her mind. She wouldn't let what was going on with the whole Jesse situation get to her.

Once finished with her shift, she took a seat in Jesse's room to be there for her friend. She didn't like that she didn't know what was going on with his family. Because of that she hated to see him lying in the hospital bed in an otherwise empty room. The only flowers were from her when she first found out he was there in a coma.

She didn't remember falling asleep, her body protesting when she moved told her otherwise. Seeing that is after eleven at night, she needed to get home. She would be back later in the day tomorrow as it is her day off.

* * *

"Tell Wally I need a few personal days," Wade said, looking at the cordless phone in his hands after ending the call with the doctor. Placing the phone on the counter he rushed out, paying no mind to the red head he had been flirting with all morning.

"Where's the fire?" Earl chucked, seeing his youngest burst into the house.

"Mom," he called out, taking a seat on the couch in the living room, waiting for his mom to join them. Sitting didn't work, as within seconds he was up pacing around the living room.

"What's going on?" Jackie asked, joining her husband and son.

"Jesse, he's uh in a coma. I don't know the extent of anything. I don't have the answers you want, but I will because I'm going to visit him," he told them, already making his move to leave his childhood home to pack his bags.

"We'll pick you up in an hour," Earl told him. Wade nodded heading out.

The hour from leaving his parents house to sitting on the plane, which he doesn't remember getting tickets for, was a blur for him. The nearly five-hour flight couldn't go fast enough for him. He needed to be there for his brother.

The last time he talked to his brother, they parted on terms that weren't the best. A fight that ended with him hanging up on his brother. Something he shouldn't have done. He couldn't bring himself to call Jesse back and talk things out. He thought that he would have plenty of time over Christmas to do so. He thought wrong.

Navigating the streets of New York was not his favorite thing to do. If anything it reminded him why he preferred Bluebell over any city. He didn't do well with overcrowded places.

"We are here for Jesse Kinsella. We're his family," Jackie told the nurse behind the desk.

"One moment," Julie smiled, making a call. "Unfortunately, his doctor has left for the night. I can get someone else down here to fill you in on what happened and tell you about his current condition," she told them.

"That's fine. Will we be able to see him tonight?" Jackie questioned.

"You'd have to ask the doctor," she told them with a small frown, picking the phone back up to make a call to see if a certain doctor was still around.

Zoe gave a small smile to the family on at th front desk, walking behind it. "Donna, can you do me a favor?" She asked the nurse.

"Of course, Zoe. I was just about to see if you were still here," she told the doctor, showing her the phone, before placing it down. "This was sent to you," she said, handing over a tin.

"He always did know my favorite," Zoe smiled, opening the lid to see it is filled with black-and-white cookies. "I do hope that he is liking Hollywood," she commented, referring to Joel Stevens, her former boyfriend, who moved to make his best-selling book into a movie. Things didn't work out between them, but they did remain friends. "When Jesse's family gets here can you call me?" Zoe inquired. She didn't know if they were coming or not, and she really hoped they did show up.

"That is what I need you for," Donna said, glancing over to the family of three in the waiting room, talking in hushed choices. "They are here for Jesse. I figured you'd be the best one to deal with them."

"Thank you," Zoe told her, walking to the family of three. "Hello, I'm Dr. Hart; I talked to you on the phone," she said, looking at Wade. She cursed Jesse out in her head, because his youngest brother was very easy on the eyes. So far, the only problem she saw in him, is that he is a player, and she didn't have time for any games in her life.

"I remember," Wade told her. "These are my parents Jackie and Earl."

"Let's go up to my office, and I can explain everything that I can to you there. Do you want to see him before, or after we talk?" Zoe questioned leading them to the elevator.

"Why don't you guys go see Jesse, and I will talk to the doc and join you once we finish," Wade suggested.

"Would that be okay?" Jackie asked.

"That will be fine," Zoe smiled. "His hospital room is on the way."

"How do you know our son?" Earl questioned curiously, getting a disapproving look from his wife. "If you don't mind me asking."

"It's fine. The subway actually. We've become friends in the past month. I felt bad because we couldn't track anyone down for him. And I only knew where to call because of our friendship. Hence the call to your place of work," she quickly explained looking at Wade. "He was looking forward to returning home; it was all he ever talked about," she shared with them. "He makes Bluebell sound like the perfect little town."

"We haven't had him home for the holidays in a few years," Jackie sighed, leaning against her husband. "It is the perfect town," she smiled sadly.

"Maybe next year," Zoe smiled, stopping outside his room. "I do have to warn you that he has wires and tubes hooked up to him right now so it isn't by far a pretty sight," she warned. "Talk to him, because he can hear you."

Wade followed Zoe further down the hall. He had taken the time to check her out, while she talked to his parents. How could he not, when she showed off so much of her long, lean legs? The dress she wore, hugging her body perfectly. It wasn't just her looks that got him, thinking about his brother's words about finding him the perfect girl, as if one would be believed, then this is the doctor friend Jesse told him about. And the lengths she went to, to find his family, showed him that she cared, and she was determined for those she cared about. Jesse is lucky to have found a friend in Zoe.

He took a seat on one side of her desk while she walked around, placing the tin down on her desk, out of the way.

"Is my brother going to be okay?" He asked, starting to fidget in the chair, nervous to hear any of the news on his brother. They may have grown apart over the last few years, but Jesse is his brother and his oldest friend. He loved his brother greatly; he didn't want to lose him, before they could make amends over things said in the years past.

"I would like to think so. Before we know too much about how he is going to be, we need to wait for him to wake up, and then we will know more. There could be memory loss, there may not be. He may not even wake up. He took a nasty blow to the head," Zoe told him.

Wade nodded along with everything she said, until he couldn't understand any of the words, she had been telling him. Over half of the words she spoke, he couldn't even pronounce them. He really thought she was talking in another language to him.

"Doc, all I got out of that is that first part about memory loss and him getting a nasty blow to the head," he commented, running a hand over his head.

"I forget that not everyone knows medical terms," she smiled. "I don't know anything about the accident that brought him in. I do know that he hit his head on the concrete of the sidewalk, knocking him unconscious. He does have a bit of swelling in his brain, a broken arm and a shattered femur," she told him, in simpler terms. "At this point we need to wait to see whether the swelling will go down. From there his doctor will figure out the next course of action to take."

"We won't have to pull the plug on him, will we?" Wade asked, having a hard time trying to get those words from his mouth.

Zoe shook her head, moving around her desk to sit next to him. She easily took one of his hands into her own, giving them a gentle and a reassuring squeeze.

"I strongly believe that it won't come to that, Wade." She didn't like to sugarcoat news to her patient's family in situations like this. She truly believed that Jesse would wake up, and everything would be good with the family again. She had no doubts about it. The thought of Jesse not pulling through this wouldn't register in her head. She knew it could be a possibility if the swelling didn't go down in his brain, as that alone could kill him. She didn't want Wade or his parents to worry about Jesse making it out of this situation yet, as they needed to think about him waking him up, and about burying Jesse, when that wasn't the case as of it. One day at a time, that is how they needed to take everything when it came to Jesse. "The best thing to do, is to focus on the here and now. And we will cross bridges when we get to them, and I will be there as much as I can. And please feel free to stop in or even call me, if you want to talk, Wade," she told him, taking a card from her desk to give to him.

"Thanks doc," he nodded, taking the card. "Can I see him?" He questioned.

"Of course, you can," she smiled sadly, getting up. "Spend however long you want to in his room with him. I will alert the nurses and doctors so you won't get into any trouble," she told him, leading him from her office.

"Thanks," he said offering her the best smile he could muster up.

* * *

 _ **One week.**_

Jesse remained in his coma for a week. Jackie, Earl and Wade made themselves right at home in Jesse's apartment. Wade leaving the bed to his parents while he took the couch. They had no plans to head on home until they knew Jesse was safely at home. Jackie and Earl spent the majority of their time sitting with Jesse, talking to him about everything that came to mind. Wade would spend an hour or two in his brother's room every day. When he wasn't out pretending to like the city, his brother called home, he stayed at Jesse's, or he would find a few moments in his days to spend it with Zoe. Learning so much more about the doctor. In the week since showing up in New York, he would like to think of Zoe as a friend, one that he would like to be with in plenty of ways, but just more than sleeping with her. He enjoyed his time with Zoe.

"Say what you want," Zoe laughed, shaking her head, sipping at her coffee. She just got off her shift, going well into the early-morning hours. Wade more than eager to join her for some coffee at a little coffee shop three blocks over from the hospital.

"I did," Wade laughed. He honestly forgot what it is they were playfully arguing over. It started out on the topic of music, turning into movies, and somehow they were talking about Christmas themed everything, ya know since it does happen to be Christmas day and all. The non-stop Christmas music being played might have had a part in them turning their conversation to Christmas everything.

"Do you know, that I didn't think you were going to come?" Zoe asked him, chewing on the corner of her bottom lip. "I stupidly thought that your redhead conquest was more important to you," she shyly told him.

Wade laughed at Zoe's statement. It pained him to think Zoe saw him that way. Not that he gave her any other reason not to, as when she called that was his main concern. "Hearing Jesse was in the hospital in a coma; she didn't register to me. My concern was on Jesse and getting here to him," Wade told her.

"What about when you go back home? Are you going to look her up?" Zoe asked feeling silly asking such a personal question.

"Why would I do that for Doc?" He questioned, reaching across the small table, to take her hands in his own. "You see there is this stunning brunette of a doctor, who has all of my attention," he smirked, seeing the blush cover her cheeks. "Go out with me tonight?" He asked. With spending so much time together, he learned that she didn't have anyone to share the holiday with this year. She brought or up with her boyfriend 6 months ago. He learned that her mother wasn't in town, so she didn't have any plans for the holiday with family. She didn't talk about her dad; she is flying solo for the holiday, as is he. As his parents would be with Jesse. He couldn't think of a better way than to spend his Christmas with Zoe.

"I would like that," Zoe smiled, more than happy she didn't work until tomorrow afternoon.

He couldn't plan much of a date, being in the city as big as New York, he was out of his depth, but he could still plan a dinner date, with a show.

A show they didn't make it to that night. They had just finished eating their dinner, having laughed and learned even more about each other, when Wade's phone rang, indicating that his parents were trying to reach him. As was the hospital calling Zoe. Both being informed that Jesse had woken up. Their first date ended with them spending it in the hospital, with his family. Zoe didn't mind; she enjoyed herself greatly for the first Christmas in a really long time.

"Merry Christmas, Doc," Wade smiled, kissing her softly.

"Merry Christmas, Wade," Zoe smiled, curling herself around him, turning back to the stories being told.

It turns out, Jesse knew what he was talking about when he kept trying to talk up his brother and his friend. As for Wade, Zoe was the woman he has been searching for over the years. For Zoe, Wade was by no means a Prince Charming, but he was hers; he did keep her on her toes. Who knew something wonderful was going to come out of Jesse falling into a coma?


End file.
